托福阅读考查的一个重点是理解基本信息及合理推断的能力，要能够辨别信息的真伪以及是否在原文中出现过，这就为我们分析选项提供了思路，大家熟知的选项设置包括有悖原意(讲错了)和无中生有(没讲的)。事实上，多数小盆友往往忽略了另外一种选项设置，即和题干不相关的选项。这就是所谓的托福阅读陷阱，也是它比较特别的地方，不仅追求选项的正确性，也追求选项和题干的关联。换句话说，一个选项，如果在原文定位区间内讲了，也讲对了，但答非所问，对不起，这个选项是错误的。我们来举个例子：
例一：
The hind leg of Basilosaurus was a significant find because it showed that Basilosaurus
○ Lived later than Ambulocetus natans
○ Lived at the same time as Pakicetus
○ Was able to swim well
○ Could not have walked on land
Another major discovery was made in Egypt in 1989. Several skeletons of another early whale, Basilosaurus, were found in sediments left by the Tethys Sea and now exposed in the Sahara desert. This whale lived around 40 million years ago, 12 million years after Pakicetus. Many incomplete skeletons were found but they included, for the first time in an archaeocyte, a complete hind leg that features a foot with three tiny toes. Such legs would have been far too small to have supported the 50-foot-long Basilosaurus on land. Basilosaurus was undoubtedly a fully marine whale with possibly nonfunctional, or vestigial, hind legs. An even more exciting find was reported in 1994, also from Pakistan. The now extinct whale Ambulocetus natans (“the walking whale that swam”) lived in the Tethys Sea 49 million years ago. It lived around 3 million years after Pakicetus but 9 million before Basilosaurus….
这是一道事实信息题，根据题干中的关键词hind leg和Basilosaurus，本着“快、准、狠”的原则，找到定位句Such legs would have been far too small to have supported the 50-foot-long Basilosaurus on land. (这样的后肢太小了以至于不能支撑Basilosaurus在陆地上活动)，和选项做一个对照，发现D是对定位句的同义改写，这样就可以直接选出正确答案D。
然后我们以胜利者的姿态来看一下A选项，根据原文小盆友们可以知道这个选项有提到，说法也正确(Ambulocetus natans...lived…9 million before Basilosaurus)，但为什么不选呢?再来看下题干：Basilosaurus的后肢是个重要的发现(a significant find)因为它的后肢揭示出什么?A选项中说Basilosaurus晚于Ambulocetus natans，这和它的后肢是重要发现无关，所以是错误选项。
例二：
All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 7 as contributing to the longevity of an oak tree EXCEPT
○ The capacity to create shade
○ Leaves containing tannin
○ The ability to withstand mild droughts and fire
○ The large number of acorns the tree produces
Paragraph 7: The opposite of an opportunist is a competitor. These organisms tend to have big bodies, are long-lived, and spend relatively little effort each year on reproduction. An oak tree is a good example of a competitor. A massive oak claims its ground for 200 years or more, outcompeting all other would-be canopy trees by casting a dense shade and drawing up any free water in the soil. The leaves of an oak tree taste foul because they are rich in tannins, a chemical that renders them distasteful or indigestible to many organisms. The tannins are part of the defense mechanism that is essential to longevity. Although oaks produce thousands of acorns, the investment in a crop of acorns is small compared with the energy spent on building leaves, trunk, and roots. Once an oak tree becomes established, it is likely to survive minor cycles of drought and even fire…
我们先来看题干，以下除了哪一个都是橡树长寿的原因，大家会发现四个选项在原文中都有提及，这个时候不要乱了阵脚，通常有一个选项也就是正确答案与原文矛盾或者与题干不相关，看D选项在原文中的表述：虽然橡树可以产生数以千计的橡子(acorns)，但是，它们对大量的橡子投入的能量，和用于树叶、树干和根部生长的能量相比，简直微乎其微。这句话讲的是橡树能量的分配，和树长寿没有关联，所以正确答案应该是D，它并不是橡树长寿的原因。
总之，同学们在备考托福阅读时一定要注意选项和题干的相关性，要能够判断一些所答非所问的选项，前程百利祝大家在托福考试中取得高分!
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